UAB Completes Sweep of Marshall After 88-80 Victory

Thursday, February 27

Bartow Arena

7:00 PM

UAB

Marshall

UAB Completes Sweep of Marshall After 88-80 Victory

2/27/2020 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM – Will Butler recorded his first career double-double of 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in UAB's 88-80 victory over Marshall on Thursday night. The 88 points was the Blazers' season-high.

UAB (17-12, 8-8 C-USA) was led by Tyreek Scott-Grayson, who scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half. Jalen Benjamin added 14 points, Tavin Lovan 12 and Kassim Nicholson 10 off the bench for UAB.

Taevion Kinsey scored a game-high 22 points for Marshall (14-15, 8-8 C-USA).

The first 14 minutes of play saw seven lead changes and five ties. Scott-Grayson's jumper at 5:57 started a 12-2 run that put UAB ahead 44-34 with 3:05 left in the first half. The Herd cut the lead to four points before Butler's layup sent the game into halftime with the Blazers leading 48-42.

With UAB ahead 57-53 at the 14:51 mark of the second half, Makhtar Gueye's free throw sparked a 12-3 run to put the Blazers up by 13 at the midway point of the half, 69-56. A 3-pointer by Benjamin gave UAB its largest lead of the game at 18 points, 76-58 with 6:15 remaining.

Marshall battled back as Kinsey's 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining made it a two possession game at 84-78, but the Blazers defense would force two straight empty possessions while Benjamin made a pair free throws followed by a Butler dunk.

"Our offense came to play tonight," said head coach Robert Ehsan. "We have been getting better offensively and scoring 88 points, especially in conference play against a Marshall team who is one of the top five defensive teams in the league, is a big time performance."

"In the second half, we had active hands and the rebounding numbers are astonishing. Antonio Ralat and Tavin had six, Tyreek with eight. A lot of guys got their hands on the ball tonight," added Ehsan.

UAB out rebounded Marshall 49-33.

Next up, the Blazers return to San Antonio to face UTSA (12-16, 6-9 C-USA) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Roadrunners are coming off an 80-71 loss against Florida Atlantic earlier tonight.

NOTES

Butler's 11 rebounds ties the most this season for the Blazers – Scott-Grayson and Tamell Pearson both had 11 against Marshall (Jan. 11) and Thomas (Dec. 28) respectively
Benjamin now has 357 total points, which sets the UAB freshman record previous held by Demario Eddins who has 349 in 2002-03
Butler also recorded five offensive rebounds for the third time this season
UAB's 31 field goals, 34 FT attempts and 48 first half points were all season-highs
The Blazers have won four straight over the Thundering Herd and seven in a row at Bartow Arena

Tickets for the final home contest are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the UAB Athletics Ticket Office at 205-975-UAB1.

Group packages are also available for 20 or more and provide your friends or co-workers an opportunity to save money while taking advantage of special fan experiences to any home basketball game. To purchase group tickets or inquire about opportunities for the 2019-20 season, please contact Chris Curtis at (205) 934-3172 or ccurtis2@uab.edu.